WATCH: A preliminary report on the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 found there was no warning before the plane was hit by multiple high-velocity objects. Mike Armstrong has the details.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was likely struck by multiple “high-energy objects from outside the aircraft,” causing it to break up over eastern Ukraine, a preliminary report into the deadly aviation disaster concluded Tuesday.

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The report by the Dutch Safety Board stopped short of saying the Boeing 777 was shot down by a missile, but its findings appear to point to that conclusion. It also did not say who might have been responsible.

READ MORE: Malaysia prepares to mourn as bodies from plane shot down return home

The Boeing 777 suddenly plunged out of the sky July 17 over pro-Russian rebel-held territory in Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.

“The damage observed in the forward section of the aircraft appears to indicate that the aircraft was penetrated by a large number of high-energy objects from outside the aircraft,” the report said. “It is likely that this damage resulted in a loss of structural integrity of the aircraft, leading to an in-flight break up.”

WATCH: Tjibbe Joustra, chair of the Dutch Safety Board, outlines the report’s main findings including that Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was likely downed by ‘high-energy objects’.

The board is leading the international investigation into the cause of the disaster. Its full report is expected within a year of the crash.

“The initial results of the investigation point toward an external cause of the MH17 crash,” the board’s chairman, Tjibbe Joustra, said in a statement. “More research will be necessary to determine the cause with greater precision. The Safety Board believes that additional evidence will become available for investigation in the period ahead.”

Christopher Yates, an aviation safety specialist at Yates Consulting, told the AP the report “is extremely consistent with damage from a missile for the simple reason there are penetration marks.

“It must have been moving at very high velocity to create the damage,” he said. “It could only be a missile of the type that would reach the altitude that would have struck the aircraft, potentially a BUK missile.

WATCH: Malaysian officials comment on Dutch report that Flight MH17 was shot down

He said the report gave no indication whether the missile had been fired from the ground or from another aircraft, but it likely came from the ground as there were no military aircraft known to have been flying at the time. The missile could not have been shoulder-fired because it would not have reached the necessary altitude, he added.

Because of the ongoing conflict between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian forces, investigators from the board have not visited the fields where the wreckage of Flight 17 plunged to the ground. That likely contributed to the board’s cautious assessment of what happened.

“Detailed examination of the structural damage is ongoing,” the report said. “Forensic examination will be performed if the wreckage can be removed.”

Investigators so far have studied photos of the crash site, radar data and information gleaned from the downed jet’s “black boxes” — its cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. They all indicated that there was no technical fault that may have caused the plane to disintegrate.

The cockpit voice recorder “revealed no signs of any technical faults or an emergency situation,” the Safety Board said. “Neither were any warning tones heard in the cockpit that might have pointed to technical problems.”

READ MORE: Missile shrapnel hit Malaysia Airlines, says Ukraine

Pro-Russian rebels officially deny having shot down the plane, but unofficially one senior rebel admitted they were behind a missile strike.

Just three hours before the plane was shot down above rebel-held territory in Eastern Ukraine, the Associated Press reported on the passage of a Buk M-1 missile system — a machine the size of a tank bearing four ground-to-air missiles — driving through the rebel-held town of Snizhne, near the crash site.

A highly placed rebel officer told the AP in an interview in the aftermath of the disaster that the plane was shot down by a mixed team of rebels and Russian military personnel who believed they were targeting a Ukrainian military plane.

Intercepted phone conversations between the rebels released by the Ukrainian government support that version of events.

In those tapes, the first rebels to reach the scene can be heard swearing when they see the number of bodies and the insignia of Malaysia Airlines.

BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, England – All Gavin Jones has to do is scan the shelves of his impossibly quaint shop on England’s border with Scotland to know he’ll have a big problem if the Scots declare independence next week.

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There are teddy bears in Campbell clan tartans and shelves of shortbread from Scotland — just above the red jams made in England. After independence, the Scottish goods would be subject to import duties, and customers would likely pay in two different currencies. Business in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England’s northernmost town, could soon be crushed by bank transaction costs.

“If Scotland chooses independence, it changes our concept of local,” he said. “There are then barriers put in place.”

READ MORE: UK offers Scotland more financial autonomy

Berwickers like to think of themselves as neither English nor Scottish. Little wonder: this enclave has changed hands 13 times over the centuries. But there is no getting away from the fact that the locals in Berwick (pronounced BEAR-ick) could be dramatically affected by the Sept. 18 referendum.

In that way, they are like the rest of Britain. While the vote may alter the balance of power in British politics, increase the likelihood that the U.K. will leave the European Union and weaken the nation’s economy and currency, the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland will have no say in the outcome. Only residents of Scotland are eligible to cast ballots.

Constitutional Chaos

Britain’s left-leaning Labour Party would be the biggest political victim of independence — it is often joked there are more pandas in Edinburgh’s zoo than there are Conservative Party lawmakers in Scotland. Scottish voters elected 41 Labour members of Parliament in the 2010 election and only one Conservative.

If the next general election due in May were held today, eliminating Scottish votes would give Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives a 37-seat majority win.

That could drag Britain toward yet another high-stakes vote — on whether the country as a whole should leave the EU. Cameron has promised a referendum to appease voters concerned about immigration and meddling by bureaucrats in Brussels. Scotland has been very pro-EU, so losing its votes would weaken the camp that wants Britain to stay.

Leaving the EU could have huge consequences for Britain. The EU guarantees freedom of movement for people, goods and money, a big advantage for companies that want to do business across the bloc, which with its 500 million people is the world’s largest combined economy. If Britain were to leave the bloc, multinational companies that have their EU headquarters in London — from Starbucks to many of the world’s biggest banks — may seek to relocate, taking money and jobs with them.

“These are very crucial times for the U.K.,” said Patrick Dunleavy, a professor of political science at the London School of Economics. “The U.K. has been united for 300 years and it’s been in the European Union since 1973. These two referenda, plus the general election all coming very close together, one way or another, we’re going to have five years of constitutional chaos.”

Financial Unknown

More immediately, the loss of Scotland could hurt Britain through the amount of financial uncertainty it would generate over the next 18 months — the time it would take Scotland to sever its ties with Britain. During that period, policymakers would have to agree on whether Scotland would continue to use the pound as its currency as well as how to split British public debt and North Sea oil revenue.

The currency question is the murkiest. While independence leaders say they will continue to use the pound, politicians in London have ruled out a currency union.

“It would be a fairly long 18 months,” said Monique Ebell, an economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

Because the result of the talks would affect the value of the pound, foreign investors in Britain could delay big decisions — opening a factory, for example, or hiring new staff — until a time when they can better gauge the risks and costs.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs last week warned that while there was no reason an independent Scotland couldn’t prosper in the long-run, “in the short-to-medium-term, the consequences of a surprise ‘Yes’ vote for the Scottish economy, and for the U.K. more broadly, could be severely negative.”

Kevin Daly, Goldman Sachs’ chief U.K. economist, said that uncertainty about the pound’s future value could trigger a run on the currency. The Bank of England is working on contingency plans to manage the pound in the event of a Yes vote.

The potential for trouble was made clear on Monday, when the pound nosedived after a poll showed the No campaign had lost its lead. The pound shed two cents to trade at $1.6130, the lowest since November.

“Our base view is the proposal will be defeated,” said Bill O’Neill, the head of the U.K. investment office at UBS Wealth Management. “But clearly the market will be watching for the polls.”

The people of Berwick, meanwhile, are increasingly concerned. What would happen if there were suddenly a border between them and their Scottish neighbours? What happens if you suddenly need a passport to get across the few miles separating the town and Scotland?

In his shop, surrounded by items inspired as much by “Braveheart” as English icons like London phone booths, Gavin Jones can’t help but worry.

WATCH: John Tory admits the need to ‘tunnel’ in order to complete SmartTrack plan

TORONTO – John Tory says he will do whatever it takes, even tunneling underground, to complete a portion of the west-end Toronto rail line for his SmartTrack transit plan.

“90 per cent of SmartTrack runs on existing GO train tracks and we knew the part to the west was the part where there are no GO train tracks,” Tory said in an interview with Global News.

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“If that involves tunneling in that area, then we’ll tunnel. The west end of it will be built because it’s going to make it more complete to the west end of the city, including out to the jobs in Mississauga.”

Tory responded to criticism from fellow mayoral candidate Olivia Chow after she said SmartTrack will take “heavy rail from Mount Dennis to Mississauga” right next to homes that will be built in the area.

“He says he won’t need to buy any properties. He says he won’t go near a street. So how will he get heavy rail from Mount Dennis to Mississauga?” Chow told reporters at the corner of Eglinton Avenue West and Widdicombe Hill Boulevard in Etobicoke Tuesday morning.

Tory said the cost of underground tunneling is already incorporated into the $8 billion price tag to electrify the GO train lines and buying new trains.

“We came up with an estimate per kilometre of construction,” he said.

Tory’s defense of his SmartTrack line comes on the same day he released a television advertisement campaign and an interactive website to convince voters about the benefits of his transit plan.

A digital tool called the ‘SmartTracker’ was launched that allows people to find out how much time it takes for them to travel from one destination to another.

The website claims commute times are estimated to be cut in half for some riders who travel from the west-end of the city towards downtown Toronto and from as far as northeast of Toronto to the city’s core.

“Commuters who live in Scarborough or Etobicoke and work downtown, for instance, who have to transfer from buses onto packed subway platforms, will save 20 or 30 minutes on a one way trip,” Tory said in a media release.

The so-called “SmartTrack” line is a two-way surface subway service Tory says will run all-day from around Pearson Airport in the west-end of the city to all the way northeast to Unionville, Markham.

“The numbers of how long it’s going to take to get from place to place comes from the GO electrification study,” Tory told Global News.

“They were trying to determine themselves in making the decision to electrifying the GO train lines consistent with provincial policy.”

READ MORE: Tory wants to exploit GO Transit lines

Tory says the cost to build and implement the 53 kilometres rail line will be split between the city, the province and the federal government.

“The $8 billion is the capital cost to electrifying the GO train lines, doing the work in the west end, buying the trains,” said Tory.

“The operating cost will be the responsibility of Metrolinx. The concept I’m going to champion with Metrolinx and provincial government is it be fare integrated with the TTC.”

Tory hopes to keep the cost of using the line equivalent to a $3 TTC fare.

Tory’s advertising campaign comes a week after Mayor Rob Ford announced his transit plan for an extensive subway expansion as a main campaign platform in his re-election bid.

Ford’s plan was largely criticized for being too costly and impractical.

His rapid transit vision would see 32 kilometres of new subways built across the city at a cost of $9 billion.

Meanwhile, Olivia Chow questioned both her adversaries plans based on funding models she says will ultimately lead to property tax increases for Toronto residents.

WATCH: Olivia Chow critical of John Tory’s SmartTrack plan

Chow also criticized how Tory’s SmartTrack plan would be built along routes requiring new infrastructure and the costs that will entail.

The former downtown Toronto federal MP said her transit plan includes spending $15 million to increase bus service, build light rail along Finch Avenue and Sheppard Avenue and have the Scarborough subway replaced with above ground rail.

VANCOUVER – A 16-year-old student from Cloverdale says she is angry at Translink after a bus driver tried to tell her she couldn’t get the student price due to the current education dispute between the BCTF and the provincial government.

Sydney Walsh boarded the #341 bus in Cloverdale on Monday on her way to her part-time job in Langley. She paid her $1.75, which is the concession fare, and then she said the bus driver asked to see her Go card.

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She tweeted to Translink after the incident saying the bus driver was not going to let her on for the student fare because of the strike.

A Go card is a pass that is issued to every high school student in Metro Vancouver, free of charge, and it allows them to ride the SkyTrain, buses, Sea Bus or West Coast Express for a reduced price. However, students must have their cards on them at all times.

Students are eligible if they are aged 14 to 19 years old (inclusive), in Grade 8 to 12 (inclusive) or enrolled in Grade 8 at the start of the school year. However, due to the strike this year, students entering Grade 8 will not get their Go card until school resumes.

Sydney did have her card on her and did not pay any more to ride the bus.

“Monday was just kind of the final thing,” she said. “We just had so much stuff happening lately with the buses sucking.” She added that last week her friend had a similar experience with a bus driver, who told her she couldn’t get a student fare during the strike.

Sydney said the bus driver was not rude to her but wanted to check if her Go card was still valid during the strike, although this year’s cards do not expire until Oct. 31.

“He said ‘I’m going to need more money,’” Sydney told Global News. “I said ‘I have my student card’ and he said ‘we’ll talk about it after.’” She added that is when he told her the Go cards may no longer be valid for all students.

Sydney did not issue a formal complaint to Translink about the matter but she did tweet to them, complaining about her experience.

Translink issued a statement saying:

Although the passenger has not yet lodged any formal complaint, we can confirm that all Go Cards are valid in summer months up to their expiry at the end of Oct. This is business as usual. Any student presenting a valid Go Card should be permitted on the bus at a concession fare. Without all the supporting details such as date, time, route direction etc. this is difficult for us to launch any type of investigation. We encourage all customers to report complaints or commendations to our Customer Relations team p. 604-953-3333.

MONCTON, N.B. – A new Statistics Canada study illustrates the importance of improving working conditions for home care workers, says the Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents’ Rights.

The study looked at Canadians with unmet long-term home care needs in 2012 and showed that nearly 800,000 people weren’t satisfied with their home care service.

They said their needs were only partly met or not met at all.

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Cecile Cassista, the executive director for the Coalition, says part of the problem has to do with poor working conditions for home care workers.

She says New Brunswick needs a public funding program through the regional health authority.

“That’s what needs to happen in this province so that workers are paid better working conditions,” she said. “Better wages and benefits so that they can care for our seniors for those who need the care.”

Sandra Biseau is a personal care aid at Integrity Home Health Services and earns about $11. 50/hour. She says the wage isn’t high enough to keep people in the industry.

“To make sure we can provide the services they need, we need to have enough staff and it comes down to not enough staff available,” she said. “Why isn’t there enough staff? Not enough money in this industry.”

She says better wages would bring more satisfied clients.

“If you have services five days a week and everyday you have somebody new coming in you’re going to get very discouraged at the end of week,” she said.

WATCH ABOVE: A plea deal may be in the works for Brad Cooper, according to North Carolina media. Laurel Gregory has the details.

EDMONTON – The man convicted of killing his Edmonton-born wife in 2008 is reportedly considering a plea deal as he awaits a retrial, according to North Carolina media.

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Brad Cooper was originally convicted in 2011 of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Nancy in Raleigh, North Carolina.

READ MORE: Brad Cooper found guilty of first-degree murder

During the trial, prosecutors said Brad killed Nancy because he was upset that she was planning to divorce him and take their two daughters to Canada.

Cooper claimed his wife went for a jog on July 12, 2008 and never came back.

The 40-year-old is serving a life sentence in prison.

However, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in January 2014 to allow a retrial.

READ MORE: Court clears way for Brad Cooper retrial

In September 2013, the appeals court ruled the trial judge who oversaw Cooper’s 2011 conviction erred by not allowing two defense witnesses to testify about computer evidence that may have affected the jury’s verdict.

The Assistant District Attorney for Wake County, Howard Cummings, told Global News on Tuesday that an offer was made to Cooper to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the last trial.

Six weeks ago, as Wake County reviewed its homicide cases, Cummings explained the offer to Cooper still stands.

A guilty plea to second-degree murder could result in about 13 to 15 years in prison instead of life without parole.

Cummings could not say if the defense is considering the deal and added the two sides “haven’t agreed on anything” in terms of a plea deal.

Iveson and Prentice discussed a number of issues, including better financial support for crime prevention and affordable housing. Both say the lunch hour meeting hosted a very good discussion.

“We had a really exceptional meeting,” said Prentice.

“I think the theme was partnership, overall,” said Iveson.

“We talked about everything from how do we enable kids in this city – whether they’re children of refugees or whether they’re First Nations kids, or whether they’re children experiencing intergenerational poverty – how do we give those kids a chance to be successful, to be productive in this labour market that we need in the future, to draw less on health care costs, to require less of our policing service, how a real partnership between the cities and the province can help advance those kinds of objectives.”

LRT and transportation issues were also discussed.

“I was struck by the number of things that we strongly agree upon,” said Prentice.

“You’ll certainly see a new spirit of partnership from the get-go,” he added. “You’ll see a pathway forward in terms of a road map that we’re going to work on.”

The premier-designate emphasized that he has lived in Edmonton during two periods of his life, and will have a residence in the capital city as he’s serving as premier.

Prentice will head to Calgary to meet with Mayor Naheed Nenshi later Tuesday afternoon.

Just days before the Alberta PC leadership vote, both mayors came out with strong words for the candidates, calling on the province’s next leaders to set a clear policy when it comes to dealing with big city issues.

“It’s kind of like when a parent realizes that their son or daughter has grown up and is also an adult and that they can have a grown up conversation with them. It still sort of feels like the provincial government looks at us like we’re their children,” Iveson said September 3.

“It’s time the provincial government come to the table and have a grown up conversation about some of these challenges that stand in the way of Edmonton’s long-term success.”

Following Tuesday’s meeting, Iveson was asked how he would describe the conversation.

“I think we had a very good conversation,” said Edmonton’s mayor.

“I would say the level of debate has gone up.”

“We had the first round of a very grown up conversation and I’m optimistic about where we’re going to take it from here.”

Prior to Saturday’s vote, Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi was also critical, blasting all three leadership candidates for what he called their lack of vision.

“While they commit to working with municipalities to move forward, they are incredibly light on actual policy recommendations. And I must say I’m surprised by this,” Nenshi said Wednesday.

Until Tuesday, Iveson had yet to sit down with Prentice to discuss issues such as funding for infrastructure, big city policing and poverty elimination.

Nenshi said he had met with all three candidates in July.

“I’m delighted to sit down with Mayor Iveson and Mayor Nenshi,” said Prentice on September 4. “They need a new partnership with the provincial government. I’ve been very clear in essentially every speech I’ve given that they need exactly that. These are two vibrant, confident, great cities — the envy of North America — and they need a partnership with the provincial government.”

Following Prentice’s win Saturday evening, both Iveson and Nenshi sent out congratulatory messages on 桑拿会所.

Congratulations, @JimPrentice! Look forward to building a stronger partnership with you & #ABgov to grow inclusion & prosperity in Edmonton.

— Don Iveson (@doniveson) September 7, 2014

Congratulations to Premier-designate @JimPrentice. You’ll find a willing and eager partner in Calgary City Hall. Looking forward to it!

— Naheed Nenshi (@nenshi) September 7, 2014

Following Tuesday’s meeting, Iveson said he and Prentice would be meeting again shortly.

Premier-designate Prentice will be on the Global Edmonton Morning News on Wednesday at 7 a.m.

Class is back in session. But not all walks to school are created equal.

The city’s most dangerous schools when it comes to pedestrian-motorist collisions are all near busy intersections with multiple lanes of commuter traffic, according to Global News analysis of collision statistics obtained through freedom of information. The statistics show all vehicle collisions from January, 2000 through November, 2013. We calculated exactly how many people have been hit by a vehicle within 100 metres of every Toronto elementary school.

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Valley Park Middle School, near Don Mills Road and Overlea Boulevard, ranks worst, with 28 pedestrian-vehicle collisions. That’s an average of more than two accidents per year.

(Although a middle school, Valley Park showed up in our data because it has Grade 6 pupils.)

Tied for second place in terms of pedestrian safety are Downtown Alternative Public School, on Lower Jarvis Street south of Front Street West and St. Aidan Separate School, on Finch Avenue East east of Warden Avenue. The areas around these schools had 26 pedestrian collisions each between 2000 and 2013.

All three schools are near, or face, busy traffic arteries.

“At the end of the day what we are really talking about here is a volume problem,” said Jennifer Keesmaat, chief planner for the city of Toronto. “We need to ensure that we are designing our schools not for cars, but for pedestrians and making it safe for pedestrians.”

And while the onus is on drivers to look out for pedestrians, police say, it’s important pedestrians to stay alert, too.

WATCH ABOVE: A young man claims that he was grossly violated in the Sears bathroom at the Fairview Pointe-Claire after a man allegedly took photos of him in a stall. Rachel Lau looks into the story.

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MONTREAL — When Matthew Tod wandered through the Fairview Pointe-Claire shopping mall on the way home from his grandmother’s house, he didn’t think making a quick stop at the Sears bathroom would become such a terrifying experience.

“[A man] came close to my bathroom stall and then started to look into my bathroom stall. So, at that moment I froze,” he said.

There were several protests over the summer, including one at Montreal city hall, and relations continued to deteriorate during committee hearings later in August.

Now, it seems the two parties are making some headway.

Watch: Firefighters’ union to pick up protest tab

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Moreau said he can “adjust” and possibly wait until collective agreements in each city expire to impose his reform, the 50-50 sharing of past, present and future deficits.

Montreal’s collective agreement expires in 2017.

Ranger told Global News he is not comfortable with the term “adjustment.” He would like to see major changes to the bill. But he noted that Tuesday morning’s meeting with Moreau was “constructive.”

“I can say it went better than expected,” said Ranger.

“We had absolutely no expectations coming into this meeting. We weren’t there to be polite, we were there to talk about a serious issue, so the discussions were very straightforward, and we’re not at a public commission, so I think that the discussions were honest.”

Unions are still planning to hold a big demonstration on September 20.

They intend however to respect Quebec’s Essential Services Act, which limits police and firefighters’ right to protest.

SASKATOON – Bed bugs. Just the thought of them makes your skin crawl and according to local pest control experts, they’re becoming more prevalent.

“Bed bugs are simply a hitchhiker and you’ll pick up bed bugs in many, many different places,” said Murray Davison, branch manager for Poulin’s Professional Pest Control Services.

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“They’re making a come-back because of international travel,you know lots of people traveling to different destinations around the world and they’re just bringing them back.”

Surviving up to a year without a blood meal, bed bugs can live in walls and transfer in between apartments.

“They’re quite happy to live in the top third of your bed, in your headboard, in your night stand that kinda stuff and as long as there’s a blood meal there every night, you know you’re sleeping in there and they’ll come and feed on you.” explained Davison.

Serina McKeen, a young mother of one, says she’s packing up after getting fed-up with a bug infestation in her apartment complex on Avenue O South.

“It’s not a safe place for my kid.”

She and her two-year-old son now share an air mattress at their new apartment after McKeen said she’s had to either toss or leave behind hundreds of dollars worth of her belongings.

“We were told not to bring our furniture because they don’t want the problem over at my new house and I’m having an inspection next Monday to see if I brought bugs,” said McKeen.

Struggling to pay the bills, McKeen says she has no idea when she’ll be able to replace her furniture including her son’s crib.

“It makes me feel like a crappy parent that I can’t afford to go get my son a brand new bed which he deserves and I’m suppose to be his provider and I can’t even afford it right now.”

Two floors up in the same apartment complex, James Smith says the infestation in his apartment is so bad a good night’s rest is hard to come by.

“She gets up in the middle of the night, my wife and check two or three times and surprisingly enough we find one or two a night,” said Smith

“I get up with her, she gets up, baby’s up, we’re checking all around and just not feeling comfortable going back to sleep.”

Tenants say they’ve filed complaints with the company but the building hasn’t been professionally treated since the spring.

In statement to Global News, Avenue Living said “125 Avenue O south has been treated several times by both third party pest control providers and staff over the last year. Most recently in late July, 2014…” The full statement is below.

“A lot of the times we go in to treat and it’s just not a very thorough job in term of prep work and a lot of times you’ll just get them back,” said Davison.

Avenue Living says it provides a notice to it’s tenants when pest control will be happening and details on how to prepare the unit then it’s up to the tenant to follow through to ensure the treatment is effective.

MINNEAPOLIS – A former Minnesota nurse who admitted going online and encouraging people to kill themselves was convicted Tuesday of assisting the suicide of an English man and attempting to assist in the suicide of a Canadian woman.

The convictions follow a legal battle that spanned more than four years and that led to the reversal of part of a Minnesota state law that outlaws the practice.

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Rice County District Judge Thomas Neuville ruled that the state proved that William Melchert-Dinkel, 52, assisted in the suicide of Mark Drybrough, 32, of Coventry, England.

He said the state failed to prove Melchert-Dinkel ‘s assistance was a direct cause of the suicide of Nadia Kajouji, 18, of Brampton, Ont., but found him guilty on a lesser charge of attempting to help her take her life.

READ MORE: Government to argue ‘absolute prohibition’ on assisted suicide in Canada

Melechert-Dinkel’s attorney, Terry Watkins, and the prosecutor, Rice County Attorney Paul Beaumaster, did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the verdict.

Neuville scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 15. The same judge had also convicted Melchert-Dinkel in 2011 of encouraging the two suicides but put his 360-day jail sentence on hold pending appeals.

“The Defendant did not physically assist either Drybrough or Kajouji in taking their own life,” the judge wrote in a ruling dated Monday but not released until Tuesday. “However, there is significant evidence that the Defendant assisted Drybrough, and attempted to assist Kajouji, commit suicide by providing them with specific instructions and methodology for completing the suicide.”

Kajouji jumped into a frozen river in 2008. She was a student at Carleton University in Ottawa at the time. Drybrough hanged himself in 2005.

In his ruling, Neuville said Melchert-Dinkel provided both Drybrough and Kajouji with detailed information about how to hang themselves, and that Drybrough followed his instructions. However, he noted that while the defendant gave Kajouji detailed and specific instructions about hanging, she did not follow them and chose another method. So the judge said Melchert-Dinkel was guilty only of attempting to assist her suicide.

The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed Melchert-Dinkel ‘s original conviction in March, saying part of a state law that made it illegal to “advise” or “encourage” suicides was an unconstitutionally broad restriction on free speech. However, the justices upheld a part of the law that makes it a crime to “assist” in someone’s suicide. The ruling said speech alone can be used to assist or enable a suicide if it is narrowly targeted to one person and provides that person with what is needed to carry out the act.

The Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings because the judge did not rule at the time on whether Melchert-Dinkel actually assisted in the two suicides.

Evidence in the case showed Melchert-Dinkel was obsessed with suicide and sought out depressed people online. He posed as a suicidal female nurse, feigning compassion and offering step-by-step instructions on how they could kill themselves. He acknowledged participating in online chats about suicide with up to 20 people and entering into fake suicide pacts with about 10, five of whom he believed killed themselves.

At a hearing last month, Assistant Rice County Attorney Terence Swihart said Melchert-Dinkel provided Kajouji and Drybrough with specific information on methods for killing themselves, going beyond merely expressing opinions.

But defence attorney Watkins said there was no evidence to prove that Melchert-Dinkel’s advice led directly to their deaths.